So we had fun!

I am so exhausted. The past few days have actually been good better than good, try exciting. Which is a word I don't use slightly. Small recap:

On Monday I went to church for renewal of my faith. Soothing and meditational, except I couldn't stay. It started later than I had anticipated and there was just too much going in my life that night.

Tuesday, I went to the GA Paralegal dinner. It was enlightening to see so many people in the same profession as yourself, who get the jobs that you don't. Fun because it was out of the ordinary for me. I got to spend some time downtown, and downtown in the Xmas season, is beautiful. It nudges you.

Then, of course Wednesday and Thursday. Will Smith and Gavin deGraw concerts back-to-back. Two different lineups, radio station concerts back-to-back. First of all, I want to thank God for making the money available for me to afford that luxury. I was doing the math and it cost about $200 for the tickets alone. All other perks like drinks (insert overpriced beer), parking etc, may come up to $100. But the high you get from it lasts for days. Days.

The first concert was the Will Smith/BSB concert. Which was good, actually I expected it to be better. BSB was great as always, something about the way they perform that always gets me. Not necessarily their harmonies, but just the way they put their passion into singing. The key thing for me was having JC Chasez introduce them. Not many people understood the history behind that and I did, so to put it in his words it was all fitting that he'd be the one to introduce them. The seats for the concert were amazing. Because with all my concerts this year I haven't exactly been blessed with the best seating arrangement, I just didn't go into it with that much enthusiasm as my sister, who hasn't been to a concert in such a long time. I knew they were floor seats, but the thing with floor seats is this, if they are not elevated, you end up having to crane your neck the entire concert. No one wants to do that. So I failed to take my camera along. Ho-hum, I thought, risk the chance of releasing awful pictures again, I don't think so.

Will Smith was okay! It was a different kind of concert. Not the regular kind where everyone is jumping up and down, and dancing aimlessly, this one seemed like it had a focus. The only snag was that it was so short, it ended just as soon as you got into it. I got into it. After we bought a one-time use camera at the local Phillips arena convenience store, I took a whole bunch of pictures before I realized that I forgot to press the flash button, let alone the wind button. So there were several pictures, but they were all imprinted on one another. Hmmm...

Thursday night was the better concert night the Star 94 concert, which comprised of artists that actually use instruments, live bands, and not DJ's like Will Smith and the Pussycat Dolls, which I had experienced the day before. These artists displayed certain experience singing and performing live, and have such great bands. Gavin deGraw was just amazing. I bought the tickets just because I have been such a huge fan of his, (as you all know, from early last year when I bumped into his CD and haven't gotten enough of it) and have often wondered what he would sound like live. So I bought the tickets just because of him. Though there was also Jason Mraz and Switchfoot in the lineup, but I wasn't too hopeful on seeing them either.

I took the leftover of the film from the previous night and thought, floor seats but probably sucky. The seats were sucky. Floor seats, angled to the left of the stage. I was the one at the end, the very last seat at the end, beside this obnoxious couple and even though I arrived at 7.30, I had already missed Howie Day. I just thought, how my luck must suck tonight. Then, Gavin came up as soon as I sat down with my Heineken. He opened with Chariot and I almost dropped my glass of beer. He sounded amazing, I can't say that enough. His voice was fresh and alive, and it filled the arena. Compare this to the night before where I sat through bands like Relient K, and could hardly hear the singer's vocals over the drum beat. Gavin was not that bad. He was good, performed like a veteran. He is in trouble now, cos he just made me a bigger fan.

As if the risk of sounding great was not bad enough. He got up during Chemical Party, left the stage, and walked through the crowd, and through the aisle, through, you guessed it, my end of the floor, right infront of me, he went up the first 100 rows, with the crowd clinging onto him, and then down again, with the crowd and the security clinging onto him right past me twice. TWICE. The first time, I was stunned. I couldn't believe it, people pushed past my seat and clutched him while I just stood there, I didn't know what to do. Some people extended their hands to touch him and just as I decided a feel of his skin may not be that big of a deal, he moved away. I just thought how uncanny. This kinda thing does not happen to me at all. Usually the artist would come down, and walk down to the floor, but through another side of the arena, and I would go, oh my darndest luck. But that was not to be this time around. It was right past me. Twice.

Hopefully the camera worked, and even though it didn't. It would stand as one of my best concert experiences ever. It was so moving that I went outside and bought a t-shirt that reads Gavin deGraw. I don't do that for BSB and I've seen them four times. But this was too much for my silly heart. I'm like, Boy who knew you had it in you, to feel bold enough to leave the stage, and make the security people pant and heave, and walk through the crowd like you are a regular somebody. Who knew! I didn't. I just thought he'd sit there, play his piano, dance a bit, ask us if we are having a good time and that would be it. Not Gavin! Amazing night. I am still reeling from it. The disbelief and sheer luck and verve of the moment. And to think I almost didn't buy those tickets.

Jason Mraz was good as well. He was soo good that he made people go outside and buy his CD. That's a good performance, when people go outside and increase your record sales instantaneously.

All in all it was good, relaxing, wonderful couple of days that has capped my Xmas and a tumultous year.

Dear Gavin, you got me through the hard times and you decided to come down stage to say, hey, let's forget about it all, and have a good Xmas. Good looking out 'men. Thank you.